Opening Day 2011!

The 2011 Major League Baseball season is upon us and every year it seems that baseball season jumps out at us sooner and sooner. This year that IS the case as the season begins four days earlier than it has in years past. That just means more snow delays and 30 degree games in the North but hey, who cares, baseball is back!

Plenty of big names switched teams in the offseason with Cliff Lee teaming up with the already phenomenal Phillies rotation, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez joining the Red Sox, Adam Dunn to the White Sox, Vlad Guerrero and other veterans joined the youngsters in Baltimore, Manny and Johnny Damon headed south to the Rays and even the lowly Nationals spent big money to acquire Jayson Werth in free agency.

The noticeable trend there with the exception of Lee, Werth and Zach Greinke who was traded to Milwaukee, is that most of the big names either went to or stayed in the American League. In the National League, the biggest news was probably the inability of the Cardinals to lock up Albert Pujols to a long term deal. The Dodgers, Giants, Reds and Braves were just a few of the other contenders in the NL who remained relatively the same team from last season. It should be interesting to see how those strategies pan out and how the players who did join new teams impact the pennant races. Here is my quick preview and predictions, division by division, for the 2011 MLB season:

American League East

While the Red Sox were upgrading their line-up and defense and the Rays were bringing in veterans to stabilize their line-up, the biggest story in the offseason in the AL East was the Yankees inability to land Cliff Lee or another top-tier pitcher to stabilize their rotation. Still, the Yankees have the line-up and a lights out bullpen that should cover for the lack of depth in their rotation that should have them fighting for the division with the Red Sox. The Rays would be the favorite in pretty much every other division in baseball but are relegated to third in the lopsided East. Don’t rule these guys out, however, as the young arms continue to develop and Evan Longoria is one of the best players in baseball. If the Yanks or Sox suffer injuries or slip up at all, the Rays will be right there to pounce. Both Toronto and Baltimore are also mightily improved but in this division that hardly matters. Put the Blue Jays in most any other division and they are competing for the wild card at worst. Same with the Orioles, who continue to develop the great young arms they have in the system and added a few bats to stabilize the line-up.

Boston 94-68
New York 92 -70
Tampa Bay 88-74
Toronto 82-80
Baltimore 77-85

American League Central

We should probably just pencil in the Minnesota Twins for 90 wins and the division crown because no matter how much we try to overanalyze this division, that is what seems to happen every year. Minnesota has won the division six times in the last ten years, averaging nearly 89 wins per season over that stretch. The Twins hope to have a healthy Justin Morneau back from his post-concussion symptoms to help stabilize an offense that should be able to score enough runs to go along with a deep pitching staff. I love the addition of Adam Dunn to the White Sox line-up and with their pitching depth and strong bullpen, Chicago should give the Twins everything they can handle for the division title. The Tigers are the third team that could compete for the division but they would probably need many things to break right and another MVP type season from Miguel Cabrera. Cleveland and Kansas City are by far the worst teams in the American League, although the Royals seem to have plenty of talent on the farm that could begin to arrive this year.

Minnesota 90-72
Chicago 88-74
Detroit 82-80
Kansas City 64-98
Cleveland 63-99

American League West

Texas’s inability to resign Cliff Lee probably opens this division back up to the fantastic pitching coming from the rest of the contenders but the Rangers still have the West’s best line-up and enough pitching to get by. The addition of Adrian Beltre bolsters their already outstanding line-up and helps sure up a terrific defensive infield. If the Rangers’ pitching falters, however, Anaheim is probably next in line with solid pitching depth and enough pop on offense, pending the healthy return of Kendrys Morales, to challenge. Oakland has a fantastic young pitching rotation led by Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill but still may lack the offense to truly contend. Seattle has the AL’s best pitcher in Felix Hernandez but not much else.

Texas 87-75
Anaheim 83-79
Oakland 82-80
Seattle 74-88

National League East

Cole Hamels was the ace of the staff when the Phillies won the World Series just three years ago. Now he’s the #4 pitcher on baseball’s best pitching staff since the mid-90’s Braves. Halladay-Lee-Oswalt-Hamels….just sick, and Joe Blanton isn’t such a bad #5. The Phillies offense is not as potent as it once was, and Chase Utley’s health is a huge concernt, but the Phils still have enough to win the most games in the National League pending the starters’ health. I have the Braves penciled in as the NL Wild Card as we sit today but if Jayson Heyward emerges as a star, Freddie Freeman holds his own as a rookie and Chipper starts to resemble the Chipper of old, the Braves could be right there with Philadelphia. If those things don’t happen, however, the Braves could find themselves in a dogfight with the Marlins and the rest of the NL Central and West contenders for that fourth playoff spot. Speaking of the Marlins, they could easily be this year’s surprise contenders. A solid offense led by Hanley Ramirez and young guns Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison combined with a sneaky good pitching rotation led by Josh Johnson could be enough to push Florida towards the top of the NL standings. New York still has Wright, Reyes and Beltran but no pitching and Washington eagerly awaits the return of Stephen Strasburg and the arrival of Bryce Harper.

Philadelphia 95-67
Atlanta 90 -72
Florida 85-77
New York 78-84
Washington 62-100

National League Central

The NL Central is probably the hardest division to forecast and it has nothing to do with the bottom two teams. If things break right for them I could see Cincinnati, Milwaukee or St. Louis running away with the division or even Chicago finding a way to win it, although that is a major long shot with their pitching. Conversely, if things break wrong for any of those teams I could see them falling out of the race by the All-Star break. In the end, I think we are looking at an extremely tight race between the Reds, Brewers and Cardinals with the Reds pitching depth ultimately pushing them over the top. I loved the Brewers acquisitions of Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum and their go for it now attitude, an approach that no other team in this wide open division took. As for the Cards, they were probably the favorite until the season ending injury to ace Adam Wainwright. As bad as the Buccos are, and I will have a more in-depth preview tomorrow, I would still rather be in their organization’s position than that of the Astros.

Cincinnati 88-74
Milwaukee 87 -75
St. Louis 85-77
Chicago 81-81
Pittsburgh 70-92
Houston 68-94

National League West

I’m predicting my first real upset here with the Los Angeles Dodgers narrowly edging out the defending World Series champs for the division crown. I just like the make-up of this Dodgers team with the arms of Kershaw, Billingsley and Lilly leading the rotation and a big bounce back year from Matt Kemp. The Giants will be strong again led by their fantastic pitching staff but I think they overachieved a bit with the bats last year and could suffer a bit from the age-old disease known as World Series hangover. Colorado should be in the mix as well if Troy Tulowitski can stay healthy and their starters continue where they left off last year. As for the Padres and Diamondbacks….there’s always next year.

Los Angeles 89-73
San Francisco 88 -74
Colorado 84-78
San Diego 69-93
Arizona 65-97

MVP
AL: Robinson Cano
NL: Ryan Braun

Cy Young
AL: Felix Hernandez
NL: Clayton Kershaw

Rookie of the Year
AL: Jeremy Hellickson
NL: Freddie Freeman

Coach of the Year
AL: Ozzie Guillen
NL: Don Mattingly

AL Playoffs
Boston over Texas
New York over Minnesota

New York over Boston

NL Playoffs
Philadelphia over Cincinnati
Atlanta over Los Angeles

Atlanta over Philadelphia

World Series
New York over Atlanta